Workshop addresses suicide prevention

When despair outweighs a teen’s ability to cope, some students will attempt suicide.

Last year, Chanelle Villalobos, an eighth grade student at A.E. Wright Middle School in Calabasas, committed suicide by hanging herself in her bedroom.

Parents, students, administrators and teachers were faced with the horror of handling the fallout of grief, guilt and the realization that children are at an increased risk for killing themselves.

To address the growing national problem of teenage suicide, the Las Virgenes Unified School District conducted a workshop last month on suicide awareness and prevention.

Mary Schillinger, director of special education in the district, said the workshop was conducted in part because of last year’s tragedy, but also because a growing body of research has shown that attempted suicide among students is on the rise.

School administrators and representatives from all 15 school sites attended the workshop to develop school site teams to help atrisk students and, in the event of a suicide, have a plan to help students, families and teachers during the aftermath.

Richard Lieberman, coordinator of the Suicide Prevention Unit for Los Angeles Unified School District, conducted the workshop.

The seminar presented a research-based plan to guide staff through the processes of prevention, intervention and reaction to suicide.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 10to 19year-old youth, Lieberman said.

He said stress makes students vulnerable. Students need to feel safe, secure and connected with their parents and peers, he added.

Psychiatric, mood and impulse control disorders, including depression, anxiety, alcohol or drug abuse and gun play, are considered risk factors for teens.

Lieberman said sometimes situations trigger suicide attempts, including a death, divorce, a family or school crisis or an event where a child was humiliated.

Children who set fires are at risk for suicide, as well as a child who purposely harms an animal and shows no remorse. Bed wetters are also at risk, Lieberman said.

Warning signs differ with the age of the child. Older children may give away prized possessions prior to attempting suicide, cut themselves or integrate death and suicide themes in their classwork and art work.

Younger children, Lieberman said, exhibit suicidal tendencies by jumping into traffic or jumping from dangerous heights.

Sudden changes in personality, friends or behaviors, threats, and suicide notes should be taken seriously in children of all ages.

Cutting or scratching is a sign of depression and anxiety, but not necessarily a suicide attempt, Lieberman said. “Kids cut for very different reasons. Kids who cut want to feel better.”

Some teens play risky games, including a deadly choking game. Last year a 14-year-old Viewpoint School student accidentally killed herself playing such a game.

Students employ many variations to the game with the intent of getting a “high” feeling. When played with other students, they include taking deep breaths and being grabbed from behind by another person or being punched in the chest.

The most troublesome, said Lieberman, is when a child plays choking games alone. Sometimes they inadvertently kill themselves when they fall from a bed and the choking device, such as a belt, becomes a noose.

“Behaviors are contagious,” Lieberman said, adding that middle school girls are more likely to try such risky behaviors than boys by an 80 to 20 ratio.

He added that “very bright girls” appear to be more at risk for such destructive behavior.

For students at risk for destructive behavior—especially cutting—Lieberman suggests tension-releasing exercises, including meditation, yoga, tai chi and other stress-reducing methods.

Conventional exercise is also effective to relieve stress.

“You have to empower kids,” Lieberman said. Such empowerment may be as simple as a rubber band. Students can avoid cutting themselves by recognizing the warning signs and either snap a rubber band on their wrist, or plunge their hands into ice water. Other methods include student holding books in both hands away from their body until they can no longer hold them, or standing on tip toes for an extended period of time.

Most importantly, Lieberman said students who are at risk for destructive behavior should learn to replace their negative thought patterns, a method best used in conjunction with medication.

“No matter how much you think you are prepared (for a suicide), you’re not,” A.E. Wright Principal Steve Rosensweig told the group.

A Life Team Manual was created and distributed to all teachers and administrators who attended the workshop. The manual gave information on prevention, intervention and “postvention,” a term used to describe how school personnel should respond after a suicide.

Schools RSS feed